The Orphaned Luna

Chapter 28

"Sweetheart, how can any of this be your fault?"

Sierra saw the shocked look on everyone's face, except Zane. His eyes only held concern. It touched her that he believed in her. She tried to hold onto that feeling. She didn't think it would last after she revealed everything.

Twining her fingers with Zane's, she took strength from him. "Whoever was behind this attack must have found out about my family's history. I don't know if they were after us or were punishing the whole pack for the actions of a few. If you guys believe this was a personal vendetta, then this is the reason. Killing everyone would be the only sure way to wipe out my bloodline. My family consisted of more than my parents and brother. My grandparents on both sides, aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone related to me by blood were in the pack. Every single descendant of the original Gamma was born and mated to another from Blood Moon. No one in our line has come from a different pack." Zane gently wiped the tears that fell down her face.

I'm so sorry, sweetheart.

See? He loves us! You can do this.

It hurts to think about them. We'll never see any of them again.

Star whimpered, and Zane wrapped his arms around her tighter. The others were unable to say anything. What words could be said that would offer comfort from her pain? None of them have experienced anything similar to what she's had to deal with.

Swallowing, Sierra took a breath and continued after a few minutes. "My ancestors had been tasked with protecting Blood Moon from the moment it was created by the Goddess. We were appointed the position of Gamma until the end of time as the guardians of the pack. It was our responsibility to ensure the pack survived, not to protect the Alpha like most Gammas are expected to do nowadays. A few hundred years ago, someone in my family either forgot our purpose or didn't care."

Looking into Zane's beautiful blue eyes, she gathered her courage. "There were three males born to the Gamma, Sidney, Milton, and Horace. Sidney was next in line as Gamma, while Milton was trained as a warrior. Then, Horace, the youngest, was a troublemaker. He was jealous of his brothers and craved power. He eventually left the pack to recruit others and gain influence. He came back years later with his followers to challenge the Alpha for the pack."

Closing her eyes, she recalled the story her parents told her and Arthur. "He fought the Alpha and won by cheating. He had help from a disgruntled pack member who slipped wolfsbane into the Alpha's diet for weeks. Although it can be fatal in high amounts, he was given just enough to weaken him without him knowing. Horace's father and Milton tried to stop him, but Horace killed them. His rogue followers rounded up the previous Alpha's supporters, his mate, and their pups. He executed them in front of the whole pack. Sidney became the Gamma, and he pretended to be loyal. Horace was worse than any Alpha in our history. He declared war against other packs, killing thousands of wolves. He had no reason to fight with others. We had everything, but he wanted more. He wanted to rule all North America and didn't care how many innocent wolves died in the process or how he did it."

"I remember learning about that. He was called the Bloody Tyrant King. But, his pack wasn't Blood Moon. It was New Moon." Scott said with confusion. "We were taught about him to help prevent the same villainy from occurring again."

"He wanted to hide his origins. If everyone knew he was the youngest son of a Gamma, he didn't think anyone would fear him. It was Sidney who suggested the name change. He tried to preserve our packs reputation for when Horace was defeated. He wanted to prevent retailiation on our innocent members. Horace created a kingdom, keeping the other packs in a servant like state. Sort of like medieval England, with the lords ruling over the poor peasants." Sierra softly replied.

"It's also taught that he eventually was killed because he was betrayed by someone close to him."

"Yes, his brother Sidney set up an ambush. Horace was suspicious of everyone. It's said that he had others taste all his food and drink before he would touch it. Sidney knew tricking him would be extremely difficult, so Sidney set up a meeting between Horace and three wolves from packs who opposed him and were not part of the kingdom. He convinced Horace to meet them with only himself and another as backup. The premise of the secret talk was that the other three wanted to help Horace in expanding the kingdom to include their packs. Horace agreed, thinking that if he didn't like what they said, a three way fight would end in his favor. When the fighting broke out, Sidney attacked the warrior on Horace's side, taking him out. He didn't want to fight his brother or watch the others kill him. The wolf who ultimately won broke up the kingdom, letting the packs go back to leading themselves. The new Alpha returned to Blood Moon, keeping his line in charge until we were destroyed."

"This is fascinating and all, but what does your family history have to do with you being responsible for the annihilation of Blood Moon recently?" Brain crossed his arms, wondering when she would get to the point.

"It explains everything if you let me finish. The war that Horace raged took a huge toll on the werewolf world. Not only did he slaughter many in his quest for power, including every Alpha that crossed his path, but he also ravaged the land. It was Sidney who betrayed his brother and who petitioned the other leaders to meet and discuss ways to prevent something like this from happening again. Something to keep history from repeating itself in the future. The council spent more time bickering than coming up with solutions. Each time a new law was presented, they argued over who benefitted from it rather than work together to fix it."

Sighing, she forced herself to finish the story. "The goal was to somehow present a few options for the Moon Goddess. Ultimately, it was Sidney who suggested the way forward. His idea was rejected by almost half the wolves. Those in support were from the packs who suffered greatly under Horace. I can assume that they were either successful in giving the proposal to Selene or she was watching since the plan was eventually put into place years after his death. Sidney never knew that our Goddess heard him and implemented his recommendation. I can only guess that it took time for her to figure out how to do it."

"What are you talking about?" Brian became impatient at her slowness.

"Before these events, Alpha titles were usually passed down to the oldest son. However, any wolf could challenge the Alpha to fight to the death. The winner would be the next Alpha. This was our way for millenia. The natural selection of those who were the strongest became the leader of the pack. Then the change happened. Now, only those born with the gene can be strong enough to be the Alpha. My family's actions were the sole reason the change exists. If Horace hadn't killed countless innocent wolves, including pups, then there would be no basis for needing the Alpha gene change." Gathering the last bit of courage from Star, she looked into Zane's surprised eyes. "It's my fault you killed your brother."